IMMIGRATION ISSUES IN KOREA

Good day my Fellow OFWs,

As relevance to some of the topics posted which tackles on the migrant workers, I would like to share an EXACT [b] presentation and discussion made by Professor Lee Shin-wha regarding immigration issues in Korea.

I hope this information will help in a little way. It's up to the reader how they will interpret this according to their own understanding.

Article has copyrighted at Center for East Asian Studies, Monterey Institute of International Studies, Monterey, California 2005

NOTE: THIS IS THE EXACT DISCUSSION AND PRESENTATION. NO WORDS HAVE BEEN EDITED NOR DELETED/ADDED.

[b]Immigration Issues in Korea
by: Prof. Lee Shin-wha, Korea University Seoul, South Korea

When it comes to migration issues in the Republic of Korea, South Korea or
Korea; it can be classified into two major parts. One is that there is Korean emigration -
what we call “Korean overseas” or “overseas Korean issues.” And, on the other hand,
there is foreign immigration into Korea, both illegal and legal migration.
Let me start with the Korean emigration. The number of overseas Koreans has
reached over 6.1 million. But given that scope of Korean nationals overseas, there has
been an increased necessity for decisive law from the Korean government, which just
began to talk about overseas Korean issues since 1997.
If I briefly talk about the history of overseas Koreas, the Koreans first started to
go abroad about 140-150 years ago. The history of Korean emigration can be divided into
four waves of mass emigration to the following countries or regions, respectively:
Manchuria; Yonhaeju, the Maritime Provinces of the Russian Far East; Japan; and the
United States. The first wave of emigrants to Manchuria started in the late 18th century
with the objective of seeking security from the domestic political unrest in Josun
Dynasty, which is Korea’s last dynasty before Japan’s colonization of Korea. Later on,
emigration increased as Manchuria became the base for the anti-Japanese resistance
movements that aimed to achieve national independence for the Korean nation. Also,
cultivation of barren land in Manchuria was another important reason to immigrate to
those areas. So both political and economic reasons pushed the ancient Korean people to
go to Manchuria.
Immigration to Yonhaeju began in 1863 because of the crop failure at home. They
also participated in the anti-Japanese resistance movement after 1905 by establishing
national groups and schools and also by recruiting national troops in the Yonhaeju area.
But they were forcibly moved to Central Asia in 1937 by Stalin’s policy. But after the
end of the Cold War, because of the manifestation of ethnic conflicts and civil war in
Central Asia, Koreans moved back to the Yonhaeju area. Now, most of those people,
called “koryo” live in the Yonhaeju area.
The third wave was the history of Korean immigrants in Japan, which began in
the late 18th century, when a handful of Korean intellectuals went to Japan for “modern
study.” But during Japanese colonial law, some Koreans went to Japan looking for
economic opportunities while a majority of them became forced laborers by the Japanese
imperial power. As I mentioned this morning, by 1942 nearly 2 million Koreans were
living in Japan, but after Japan was defeated in the Second World War, more than half of
them came back to Korea, so the number in Japan fell to 600,000. As of 2003, Japan
officially recognized 470,000 Koreans zainichi and then many of them started to get
naturalized to become Japanese citizens since Japan changed their law.
The fourth wave of Korean emigration was to the United States, which started in
the early 20th century, when immigrants, mostly composed of male farmers went to work
in sugar cane plantations in Hawaii and at railroad construction sites. In addition, some
Koreans also went to Mexico and Cuba. These laborers, especially those working in
Mexico and Cuba were exploited for their labor receiving negligible wages in return for
work—close to the status of slavery. Korean immigrants in the US also contributed to the
Japanese resistance movement by organizing patriotic groups. One of the important
figures was Syngman Rhee, who was the first president of the Republic of Korea.
Another important aspect of Korean emigration is related to the adoption of
children from Korea. Between 1959 and 2002 a total of 150,000 Korean children were
adopted by citizens of the United States and European countries.
I have older tables with a bunch of statistics from the 5th page. So, in the interest
of time, I will skip all those statistics so you could have a look.
Among overseas Koreans from the four major waves of Korean emigration, I
would say that Korean Chinese in Yanbian have the strongest ethnic identity. According
to one survey, a number of those Koreans still observe the major Korean national
holidays, such as Korean Thanksgiving. About 85% of Chinese Koreans, called
“josunjok”, observe those national holidays, while 65% of the koryo, 46% of the zainichi,
and only 17% of Korean Americans observe the Korean national holidays.
In short, the history of Korean emigration started as a means of surviving the
difficult living conditions in Josun Dynasty, or to contribute to anti-Japanese movements.
Korean emigration has gradually changed in character; it is now stimulated by the
yearning for a better quality of life and education. And, as shown in my handout, the
number of Koreans going overseas has begun to increase because younger parents want
to take their children to go to the United States or other Anglophone countries so that
they can pick up the English language and receive a more advanced education. One
interesting phenomenon here is that the number of Koreans living in Canada was 170,000
in 2003. This represented an almost 21% increase from the previous years. In the wake of
the 9/11 terrorist attacks, it is very difficult to go to the United States to get a permanent
or a student visa status, so they instead choose to go to Canada so that they can stay with
their children..
Concerning the development of Korean immigration policy, there was practically
no standard Korean policy toward Korean immigrants during the period of the First and
Second Republics under Syngman Rhee and Chang Myon, respectively. Because the
governments were preoccupied with the need to establish social stability in the postcolonial
Korean society, they simply didn’t have any time, energy, or money to consider
overseas Koreans as Korean nationals. Almost the same is true for the Third Republic
under Park Chung Hee. Many Korean Japanese wished to come back to South Korea, but
since many of the zainichi were regarded as pro-North Korean, Park Chung Hee was
quite harsh on those Korean Japanese. This also aggravated the situation of those
Koreans living in Japan, who already suffered Japan’s discriminatory policies.
The post-Cold War environment, in which ideological prejudices were no longer a
major obstacle in Korea, facilitated the good will and support for South Korean public
and policy decision makers toward overseas Koreans. During the Kim Young Sam
period, as part of globalization policy, they started to take into consideration the situation
of overseas Koreans. But it was not until March 1997 under the Kim Dae Jung
administration, and the registration of the Overseas Korean Foundation Bureau and
subsequent establishment of the Overseas Korean Foundation under the auspices of the
Korean Ministry of the Foreign Affairs and Trade, that the government began to address
the problems and needs of overseas Koreans. But still, there is a long way to go. The
Korean government should do more because overseas Korean communities wish to see a
Department of Overseas Koreans within the Korean government. But it is very hard for
South Korean Government to establish such a department because they are more
interested in, or more concerned about diplomatic troubles with respective countries.
For example, China is very sensitive about the possible establishment of a
Department of Overseas Koreans because they are concerned that such a department may
include in its responsibility the status of the “josunjok”, the Korean Chinese, as Korean
nationals. Non-governmental organizations and the academic community have long
claimed that the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affair should not be in charge of
government policy toward overseas Koreans because the ministry has only concentrated
on minimizing diplomatic conflicts with other countries rather than dealing with the
issues that the ethnic Koreans face. It is also very regrettable that there is no single
government organization representing the interests of the people who already make up
about 11% of the entire population of South Korea.
In contrast, out of the 2,000 Korean language schools located in 96 countries
around the world, 1,100 are found in North America. It is apparent, that overseas Koreans
in the United States have a strong interest in teaching their children the Korean language,
while the Korean government is still negligent toward that need.
Turning to foreign immigration into Korea, at the end of 2004 foreign residents in
South Korea were estimated to number about 751,000, including 541,000 legal
immigrants and 210,000 illegal immigrants. We also have some problems with refugee
issues and victims of human trafficking and other foreigners. With regard to trends in
foreign immigration to North Korea, the most prominent and pressing issue is how the
government will deal with the influx of foreign workers. Let me focus only on foreign
workers in Korea.
Korea is particularly concerned about the diminishing population of native
Koreans. They say that in 15 years more than half of the working population in Korea
will be foreign workers rather than native Koreans. Hence this influx of foreign workers
is quite a big and growing social and security concern to South Korea.
Concerning the state of foreign workers in South Korea, for a long period of time
Korea has been an even more homogeneous country than Japan and responded with
indifference to the needs and interests of foreign migrants residing in Korea. In 1992
there were only a few thousand foreigners who entered South Korea. But after the
Olympics and also particularly after the World Cup soccer games, more and more foreign
workers have been interested in coming to Korea in search of jobs. Particularly, Korean
Chinese and Chinese themselves want to come to Korea, as well as some Russians, in
search of the ‘Korean Dream,’ to get a better life. Korea has slowly changed its
perspectives, accepting foreigners as factory operations face labor shortages. Korea now
is facing labor shortages because not many Koreans want to work in the 3D industries.
Many foreign workers come from China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia,
Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Pakistan. They are initially permitted to
stay for 1 year for a salary of about $2 per hour, which is lower than what illegal workers
earn, which is from $3 to $4 per hour.
Over the past few years, in an attempt to attract foreigners to Korea, the Korean
government and many large businesses have offered incentives to foreign investors and
introduced industrial training programs to foreign workers. Industrial trainees only get $2
per hour and they have mo medical insurance. So they prefer to become illegal workers
so that they can at least double their income to $4 per hour. Neither illegal immigrants
nor industrial trainees can get a medical insurance nor any other social benefits.
As for illegal foreigners, some of them usually enter Korea on a tourist visa or
visitor’s visa and find employment within a week or two, while some of them come as
trainees but, because of the adverse working conditions, desert their jobs and then
become illegal workers. However, becoming illegal workers is not a wise decision either.
Most illegal workers are employed or re-employed and poorly kept as 5-to-10 workers in
metropolitan areas. There are human rights abuses and violations of employment
contracts and sexual abuses of female workers. For instance, illegal foreign workers can
rarely receive a compensation for the injuries they suffer. If they complain, their
employers report them to the government; so if there are some problems, they would
have to be forcefully repatriated to their host countries. So they have to remain silent.
Foreign women are able to legally marry Korean men and become naturalized
citizens of Korea, but foreign men have a worse condition because they cannot acquire
Korean citizenship by marrying a Korean woman. It is because of the Korean hojuje.
Although this system is going to be abolished, if you are a foreign man married to a
Korean female citizen, you are not a naturalized citizen; you are still a foreigner. The
foreign husband of a Korean woman has to continuously apply for a 3-month visitor’s
visa and repeatedly enter and exit the country in order to legally stay with his wife.
Otherwise he has no choice but to reside without a marriage registration. The latter case
has created additional social problems. Their children are not considered Korean citizens
because their father is not Korean. They are usually classified as illegal migrants, just like
their father.
Lastly, what is the Korean government’s policy toward foreign workers? The
response of the government sector to foreign labor import has been mixed. While the
Ministry of Labor called for the introduction of employment permits for the foreign
workers in 1994, it was not until July 2003 that, with the approval of the Korean National
Assembly, the Ministry of Justice finally introduced a work permit law for foreign
workers. The law was designed to grant 227,000 unregistered foreign laborers legal
status. With this bill, the number of foreign workers, including legal employees and
industrial trainees, has increased from 340,000 in December 2002 to 541,000 in
December of 2004. So this is a phenomenal development considering the poor history of
Korean government policy toward foreign workers. However, in order for these people to
obtain a legal status, they must have lived in Korea for less than four years as of March
2003 and have to be currently employed in one of the six specified areas, such as
manufacture, construction, service, agriculture, livestock farming, and fishery. That
means you have to be useful in promoting or contributing to Korean industry. So a few
foreigners who have been left out of this category have committed suicide and others
have participated in massive demonstrations in downtown Seoul, causing some social
problems.
As a result of the new legislation, at least 150,000 illegal workers have left the
country, gone into hiding, joined in protests, or, as a last resort, committed suicide. As of
the end of 2004, an estimated 210,000 foreigners were still considered illegal in Korea.
So, unless the Korean government makes a more comprehensive approach from a human
security perspective, it will be difficult to avoid the criticism that it is taking advantage of
foreign labor without bearing the social burden that results from such policy.
To conclude, concerning the rights of foreign workers in Korea, the International
Labor Organization (ILO) has advocated for the rights of those who are currently
working or searching for employment abroad by calling them “migrant workers” rather
than “foreign laborers.” According to this ILO designation, the human rights policy of
foreign workers should be based on the principle of equality, that is, equal treatment
between the foreign and domestic workers. The Korean government should comply with
the international standards that aim to protect foreign workers. For instance, the welfare
of the industrial trainees could be guaranteed by stating their rights under Korean labor
law. Instead of calling them “foreign laborers,” it might be more appropriate to call them "migrant workers."

Copyright: Center for East Asian Studies, Monterey Institute of International Studies,
Monterey, California, 2005

AN ANALYSIS....

Comparison between legal & illegal migrants:
- legal workers have lower salary than illegal workers
- legal workers have more deductions in terms of income than illegal ones
- legal workers have their sojourn period while illegal workers can stay as long as they were
not captured by authorities
- legal workers can move freely & independently, while illegal ones cannot as they are
always seized by authorities
- legal workers can claim their benefits while illegal doesn't have any benefit at all
- legal workers pay taxes, while illegal ones don't pay necessary taxes
- in case of accident, legal workers are under the responsibility of the employers, while illegal
ones are not


these are only some of the comparison between legal & illegal migrants....

Labor Behavior of Employers that both Legal & Illegal Migrants Usually Encounter:
- racial discrimination
- physical abuse
- verbal abuse
- psychological & emotional abuse
- sexual abuse to female migrants/workers
- forced labor, usually working in more than required working hour
- forced deportation if the employer doesn't like his worker - they can easily report it to the
authorities
- human exploitation just to meet the end goal of the company (production issue)
- doesn't comply with the right salary rate
- forced sexual works to female entertainers

What does the Korean Government Do in Order to Address the Issue?
- massive crackdown of illegal stayer
- review of laws to implement related ones that will complement the foreign migrants
- strict implementation of labor laws
- dialogues with some organizations to address issues concerning migrant workers

Analysis Now,...
- as to the employers, as long as they are oriented of their culture - harsh and inhuman, and
not aware of human rights, any law that the Korean government will impose is USELESS
- Korean Government always see the both sides of their community, the fallback, the pros
and cons, they are experts as law enforcers. Implementation of their law is according to
their discretion, and as foreign migrants it is also our responsibility to follow their law.
- Korean Government should also take a look on the labor behavior of the employers
towards their workers and take necessary actions on this. They should not only focus on the
migrant workers, as the behavior of their constituents affect their economic stability.
- Legal and Illegal Migrant Workers have the same reason why they are working and
sacrificing in other country - TO AUGMENT THE NEEDS OF THEIR FAMILY!
- With the intent increase of illegal migrants, Korean Government sees its fallback, especially
in terms of revenue, as illegal migrants do not pay necessary taxes, yet they are covered
and enjoy some of the implemented benefits by the government, e.g., subsidy fare in
trains, buses, and others. They issue amnesty program for this group and in every country,
there is an existing law for illegal migrant and whether we like it or not, we have to
FOLLOW
- Korean government should also take a look in Human Rights Law, especially in treating
illegal migrants, they maybe illegal stayers, but they are still HUMAN and they should be
treated as humans. They are also covered of Human Rights Law.

Every migrant worker, legal or illegal has their own reason in their own battlefield - but every battle and journey that we make is anchored with just responsibility. It is not after any law or any admonition, it is of being our own person. In the end, we are the ones responsible to our own crosses and trashes.

MABUHAY ALL OFWs!

how to apply to KOREA...

vixit po nyu ang website na ito www.poea.gov.ph.. mag registered po kayu dun

ok.. san q mkikita dun ung register

to mr. dave,

thank you for your appreciation... by the way, the one you quoted is my own analysis. It might give confusion, but as a clarification - - - -

the first one I posted was the one authored by Prof. Lee Shin-wha;
the second one I posted is my own analysis on immigration issues in South Korea...

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to ghirl 13,

kindly open the website shared to you by lhai, then open the link about Employment Permit System (EPS). there you can find the detailed procedure in applying for such

goodluck!

pacencia napo ernie dito ako nag reply sa nagtanung about how to apply in korea.. thanks po sa walang sawang pagbbigay ng info sa mga kababyan natin godbless..

hi. panu q maoopen ung link ng EPS para mkita q ung procedure how to apply

to ghirl 13,

good day.

i understand you know the basics of Internet - that is, CLICK, BROWSE, CLICK, BROWSE. I understand you know how to follow simple instructions... Just do it, and you can find the right way.Besides, world wide web (www) is a matter of exploration.